


Hidden in the Waves

by warrior_shampoo72



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn is not a good boy, Blind Ignis, Ignis just needs a hug, M/M, Merman Gladio, attempted suicide, merman au, merman noctis, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-12 01:14:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10478748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warrior_shampoo72/pseuds/warrior_shampoo72
Summary: All Noctis wanted was a closer look at the shore where the humans lived. He did not expect to save the life of one of said humans. Feeling drawn to the man he rescued, he must make a choice: to become a human or to stay with his ailing father and become king. However, nothing is as simple as that when an ancient evil begins to stir.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. I'm sorry it will probably be bad, but I tried. All I can ask is that you guys give it a shot. Next chapter will be longer I promise.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Noctis inwardly sighed as he looked over his shoulder to see Gladio, his Shield and friend, glaring at him. The older merman was a mass of muscle and appeared somewhat threatening in the darkness of the ocean.

“To get a closer look at the shore,” he replied before he kept swimming. Gladio scowled and quickly followed his prince.

“Not so fast, Noct. You know the king has forbade everyone from contacting the humans.”

“I’m  _ not _ contacting them,” Noctis snapped, his blue eyes glowing in the dark. “I’m just looking. No one will even catch me! Everyone knows that humans can’t see well in the dark.”

“Fine, but don’t complain when his majesty punishes you. And don’t even think I’ll go easy on your training tomorrow.”

The prince watched his friend swim away before scoffing.  _ ‘Not like you go easy anyways’  _ the prince thought. When he could no longer see Gladio’s tail, Noctis turned and continued swimming towards the shore. The dark waters were hard to navigate, but the occasional flash of moonlight made it a lot easier.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the merman reached his destination. Even from underwater he could see the distant lights of the shore, causing excitement began to swirl in his stomach. This would be his first time getting a good look at what was beyond the ocean.

Noctis stopped swimming once the dock was in his sight and slowly peeked his head from out of the water. The first thing he noticed was how beautiful the sky was even though gray clouds covered most if it. The young merman never tired of seeing the sky without the water to blur it, but that was not why he was here.

Blue eyes flickered down to take in the surroundings. He was in complete awe. The lights from the shore were stunning. He vaguely heard the chatter of humans though he couldn't see any from where he was. Noctis continued to admire the lights until the sounds came from the dock. The prince hastily ducked his head back into the water until everything below his eyes were submerged.

A figure was walking on the dock, heading towards the water. He could hardly breathe. He definitely didn't expect to ever get the chance to see a human this close.

The human, a male he guessed based off the build and clothes it wore, was gently tapping a stick around him as he walked on the dock. The tapping noise the stick made was starting to get irritating to the hidden merman, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave.

He continued to watch as the human slowly made its progress to the end of the dock. Now that it was closer, Noctis could definitely tell that the human was male. His hair looked as if it had once been styled, but the ocean breeze rendered the style useless. It was rather amusing. He also wore strange cloth on his body, but the prince knew it was just the humans’ way. It didn’t matter anyways. Whatever he was wearing it looked uncomfortable to Noctis.

The human finally reached the end of dock and slowly sat down, making sure to be careful while doing so. He sat there for a few moments before reaching up to remove a pair of dark glasses the merman hadn't noticed before. Noctis inhaled sharply

The human’s eyes were closed, but there was heavy scarring on them, particularly on the left side. Noctis wondered how the other had managed to damage its eyes that badly until its shoulders began to shake. Slowly tears began to roll down its cheeks as it curled in on itself.

Noctis’ chest began to ache. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to help the human.

The silent sobs racked the human’s form for what felt like hours before it began to calm down. Taking a deep breath, it set its glasses next to the stick it had abandoned on the dock before its lips began to move.

The merman leaned in, desperately trying to hear what the human was saying. He never made it. Without warning, the human leaned forward and allowed itself to fall into the ocean.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet Ignis. He is not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied about this being longer, but its 4 am so. Thank you very much for the kudos and comments guys!

Ignis Scientia was not a happy man. His family had been taken from him at a young age, so his uncle took him in. While he loved his uncle dearly, he just could never compare to the parents he lost. 

As he grew up, he met and befriended Prompto Argentum, a boy younger than himself who masked his sadness with jokes. Their friendship was odd. Ignis was smart and mature, already able to cook and take care of himself as soon as high school ended. Prompto wasn’t the brightest and his cooking left little to be desired, but he was amazing with a camera.

Once Prompto had graduated, Ignis had insisted that they become roommates. He was concerned that the blond wouldn't be able to care for himself. And so, the two got a decent sized apartment and began to live as adults.

Three years later, when Ignis was driving home, a drunk driver crashed into his car head on. The two were rushed to the hospital where the driver died if his injuries. About a week later, Ignis opened his eyes only to be met with darkness. He has been dimly aware of Prompto crying at his bedside.

Later, Ignis found out the extent of his injuries. His body had taken a beating, but there was only one thing he focused on. The doctor had told him he was blind, and they had little hope that his sight would ever return.

When he was finally allowed to go home, he realized how hard his life was going to become. Prompto needed to help him do everything. He couldn't walk without almost tripping, he couldn't cook, and he couldn't even clean the apartment. He had become a liability. His friend had insisted many times that he did not mind helping Ignis. Prompto took it upon himself to buy a pair of dark sunglasses and a cane for his blind friend and had even took it upon himself to make sure the apartment stayed nice. It's what Ignis wanted.

Although they often had to order food since Prompto’s cooking still sucked.

They lived like this for almost a year before it became too much for Ignis. He became depressed and often found himself wondering if Prompto’s life would be easier without him around. After all he was just a cripple. He couldn't do a thing to help his friend.

So he decided to end it.

He carefully wrote a note for the blond, praying that it would be legible, before leaving the place he called home for four years. It had taken hours to get to the beach. At first he thought he wouldn't be able to make it, but some kindhearted people walked him there. They even helped him get to the dock.

After he was sure they were gone, he had begun to slowly walk towards the end of the dock. The sea breeze chilled him, but he didn’t care. If this went right he wouldn't be feeling anything.

Finding the edge, he carefully sat down and allowed his legs to dangle over the edge. He removed the glasses Prompto bought for him and gently sat them next to his cane. It seemed wrong to take the gifts with him.

As he prepared to end it, tears began fill his eyes. He found himself remembering all the fun he had with his friend. Began to remember his beloved uncle and the parents he still loved. Ignis wept for the first time since his parents were taken from him.

“I’m so sorry everyone.”

With that, Ignis leaned forward and fell into the ocean. The water was surprisingly warm. He was aware that he couldn't breathe, but he didn't struggle. For the first time he was at peace. He thought he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his chest, believing it to be the welcoming arms of his mother. That's when he suddenly found his head above water.

“Are you crazy?!” a voice hissed into his ear as he began to cough violently.

“Grab on to the dock and pull!”

“What… Where …?” Ignis asked in confusion.

“Right above you! Grab on to the edge!”

Ignis clumsily reached up until his hand hit something hard. He grabbed it, but before he could pull himself up those arms pushed.

Soon he was safe on the dock.

“There. You humans should just stay on land if you can’t swim,” the voice stated. It was a really nice voice. The owner was obviously a young man, yet he found himself pausing at the word  _ human. _

“My apologies,” he found himself saying anyways. “If I may ask, what are you doing out this late at night?”

“I could ask you the same thing. What’s your name, human?”

“... It is always proper to introduce yourself first before asking another their name.”

The voice’s owner tsked then said, “My name is Noctis.”

“I am Ignis. It’s a pleasure to meet you Noctis, and thank you for saving me.”

“Eh it was no big deal. I couldn’t just let you drown.”

The two fell into an awkward silence. Rapid footsteps caught Ignis’ attention and he just knew it was Prompto. Someone crashed into him and clung desperately. He was aware of his friend sobbing and begging him to never do this again.

“Iggy you’re soaked! How did you get back on the dock?”

“A young man saved me,” Ignis replied as he was pulled to his feet.

“What? But I don't….” Prompto trailed off before ushering his friend forward. “Come on Iggy let's get you home. I have your glasses and cane in my other hand, just so you know.” As the two left the dock, Ignis wondered if he’d ever meet his savior again.

_ Noctis…. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than necessary. Sorry to those that like this story.
> 
> As always comments are appreciated.

Several days had passed since Noctis saved the human. Though he reacted quickly he was terrified. Terrified that he would have to witness something…  _ someone _ die. Gladio always told him to man up and get over it, but just thinking about it… 

How was he to take a life in the name of Insomnia? He couldn’t handle it even when he wasn’t the one doing the killing! Maybe if he asked someone besides Gladio for help he could-

He was ripped from his thoughts with a loud yelp, pain blossoming in his stomach. Gladio glared at the prince who only scowled back.

“The hell was that for?!”

“You know damn well what it was for. Just because this is training doesn’t mean you can day dream, Princess. In a real fight you’d sliced in half, your body floating away to gods know where.”

Noctis felt a snide comment on the tip of his tongue, but his mind flashed back to Ignis. He shook his head violently and readied his sword. There was no way he would let that human distract him again. He quickly lunged at Gladio, using his smaller size to swim circles around his friend and nimbly dodge the large sword he wielded.

_ One hit by that and I’m done for… _

The larger merman humored the prince for a while, but soon grew bored. He reached out and wrapped his hand around the prince’s tail, earning a surprised yell. Smirking, he roughly pulled the tail so Noctis slammed onto the floor with a pained grunt.

The prince felt the blade against his neck and only glared at the sword’s owner. Gladio chuckled before moving the sword so his prince could get up.

“ Alright spill it. What’s bothering you? You figured out that tactic wouldn’t work in your 15th year.”

Noctis’ body grew rigid. Was he really that obvious? He had to come up with a lie. There was no way Gladio would let him live it down if he found out about the human. Plus he would go straight to his father…

“Nothing important. I’m just dreading the party father is throwing.”

“Aww does the princess not want to find her prince?” Gladio teased.

“Shut up! Like there would be any possible mates left as soon as they saw you,” Noctis muttered.

“You need to have an heir eventually Noct,” the shield stated calmly. He immediately got a glare in return. “Besides Lady Lunafreya is coming to make sure you won’t grow bored.”

Immediately the prince’s mood improved. Luna had been his friend since he was small. If there was anyone he could tell about the human, it was her.

Suddenly it seemed that the party couldn’t arrive any sooner.

* * *

 

Ignis sighed softly as he lounged on the couch in his apartment. Prompto, after much coaxing, had finally gone back to work. Even though several days had passed since the incident and he was no longer unstable, the blond had stayed home to mother him. Endlessly.

It had quickly begun to annoy the blind man, but he never scolded his friend. He didn’t have the heart to. After all, Prompto’s heart was in the right place.

With his friend gone though, he found himself thinking about Noctis. He wanted to know  _ why _ the other man had been out swimming so late. Well he only assumed the other was swimming since he didn’t remember hearing the splash of someone diving in.

More importantly he wanted to know why Noctis called him ‘human’ like he himself wasn’t. He remembered being in the other’s arms. His saviour was definitely human.

_ Perhaps he isn’t quite right in the head. _

Nodding to himself, Ignis pulled himself into a sitting position. He stretched for a moment before rubbing his hand over his face. He flinched when he felt the scar tissue by his left eye, and quickly stood up.

Today he was going to try to do something productive.

He fumbled around the apartment, eventually returning to the living room with a cloth in his hand. After a few stumbles he finally made it to the small coffee table by the couch. With a triumphant smile, Ignis began slowly cleaning it.

* * *

 

”IGGY I’M HOOOME!”

Ignis jumped as the door slammed open and then scowled at how loud his roommate was being. 

“For the love of the Six, Prompto. We have neighbors you know.”

The blond smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. He mumbled out an apology before looking around at the apartment. He let out a low whistle and grinned at his friend.

“Did you clean, Iggy? The place looks great!”

Ignis smiled slightly and puffed out his chest slightly. He had been worried that he made the place dirtier. Prompto brushed past him, gently pushing him with his shoulder.

“You did a great job. If you can get the hang of this maybe you can even begin cooking again,” Prompto stated happily.

The blind man beamed at his friend. He desperate wanted to cook again. It was relaxing to him, and he was tired of having to eat out most nights.  _ Maybe Prompto should at least make an attempt to improve his cooking… _


End file.
